Lucas Ryan Versus: The Hive (The Lucas Ryan Versus Series) by Madison Daniel Read Free Book Online Page A

beat. Two hundred kids bounced up and down with every crash of the drums. Hands reaching for the ceiling and heads twisting above their shoulders. The twins, Roland and Morgan ran up to Taylor and I with big wide smiles.
    “Lucas! About time!” Roland tried to holler over the building roar of the crowd.
    “Yeah, I had to check on something,” I said, stressed. Morgan sensed the stress in my voice and slid her long hair behind her ears. Taylor watched closely as she leaned into me.
    “Luc, she sounds amazing tonight. Relax. Just have fun. Be the Lucas we know and love,” she said, proudly. The sentiment surprised me. She looked up at Taylor who tried to act as if he wasn’t listening to her every word. Taylor nodded in agreement and pulled his eyes from Morgan. I shrugged, nervously.
    “Really?” I gulped. That’s when I caught my first glimpse of Olivia on stage. Her hair was slicked back with purple streaks running along the sides. Her guitar hugged her body loosely, over an outfit that had been ripped and torn in all the best places. She strummed the guitar strings with aggression and stomped her booted foot with the pounding beat of the bass drum. She looked like a rock-n-roll dream.
    “Be yourself,” Morgan stated, again. She pushed me forward with a laugh. I stumbled down the isle, trying to avoid each bouncing body in front of me. Olivia started singing and I became paralyzed. I couldn’t move an inch as her eyes scanned the crowd. Her voice sang through the speakers with ferocity. I stood still, caught in the web of her pout, and that’s when it happened. Her stare found mine, and she smiled. I looked behind me to be sure I wasn’t getting things mixed up. When I turned back to her face, she smiled even bigger and nodded my way. Holy crap...did I just dream that? She smiled! At me!
    “Be yourself,” I said like a robot, and waved to her slowly. From the stage she turned her body in my direction, never letting go of my stare. Her right arm shot out, pointing above her head toward the roof and with a flick of her wrist, the rest of the band stopped playing. All of the music halted, except the throbbing beat of the drums. She wrapped both her hands around the microphone, staring deeply into me.
     
    “NOTHING COMPARES TO, A QUIET EVENING ALONE.
    JUST THE ONE-TWO, I WAS COUNTING ON.
    THAT NEVER HAPPENS, I GUESS I’M DREAMING AGAIN.
    LET’S BE MORE THAN...THIS!” she sang, with her sultry voice.
     
    She sang to me...ME! My head pounded with excitement. I felt like throwing my hands in the air and screaming in victory. If only it had lasted.
     
    ~ Tell her. She’ll understand. ~
     
    Oh crap, the impossible voice was back in my head. My posture shrunk with the thought. Just ignore it...you’re not going crazy.
     
    ~ Pick me up and tell Olivia. ~
     
    I tried with all my might to shake the ‘crazy’ to the back of my brain. I stepped forward and smiled at Olivia. She winked back at me. If I had not been lost in the moment, I might have noticed the unwanted attention that my personal serenade was generating. From across the room, a pair of hurt eyes carved into me. I was on cloud-nine, but I would soon find that this particular cloud was quite crowded.
     
    The concert lasted another hour and I loved every minute of it. Every song, every squeal of her guitar, and every thunderous drum assault. Sadly though, I couldn’t tell you the name of any of the songs, or how many songs were played. All I could remember was Olivia’s smile.
    “Luc, we have to get home soon,” Roland said, worried. “We’re already like, five minutes late.” He turned to his sister, “Mom’s gonna kill us, Mo!” He quickly paced the length of the school parking lot back and forth.
    “Take it easy, Roland. Let’s give Olivia and her band a few more minutes,” Taylor tried to ease his worries. My friends had been overly patient waiting with me for Olivia. They were the best friends a guy could have. Taylor was probably